Railroad switch heater



y 7, 1940. w. E. PALMER 7 2,1 ,960

RAILROAD SWITCH HEATER Filed Oct. 15, 19s? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 2 FIG. I.

ATTORNEYS y 7, 1940. w. E. PALMER 2,199,960

RAILROAD SWITCH HEATER Filed Oct. 15. 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.

I NVENTOR WILLIAM E. PALMER ATTORNEYS name May 1, 1940 i UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE I maul! October 15, 1931, Serial N0. 189,214

This invention appertains to railroad appliances, and more particularly to novel means for preventing the freezing and the collection of ice and snow around a switch during the winter season, whereby to insure the proper operation of the It has been proposed to utilize oil burners and the like for heating switches; but all of the devices with which I am familiar'fail to effectively accomplish their purpose. In certain instances, the burners thereof fail to generate the necessary hea't. Some of the burners will not remain lit in-heavy wet snow storms, and, in others, when a strong wind is blowing the flame is carried away from the switch.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a switch heater or burner which will operate under all conditions and which will quickly and easily generate the necessary heat to insure the operation of the switch.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a plurality of burners located at spaced and advantageous points along the switch, with a common source of oil supply for all of the bumers, and means for insuring a constant pressure of oil to the burners.

A further object of my invention is to provide novel means for mounting the burners under the rails, whereby all of the burners can be simultaneously shifted to a position under the rails or to one side or the other of the rails, said mounting allowing the adjustment of the bumers according to the direction of the wind.

A further important object of my invention is to provide novel means for constructing the bumers themselves. whereby after the burners have been lighted a few minutes, the same will generate a combustible gas capable of giving a strong and intense heat.

A still further vobject of my invention is to provide a switch burner of the above character, which will be durable and emcient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be incorporated with a railroad switch at a low cost.

With these and other objects in view the in-' Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken' along the line 2-4 of Figure 1. 100mm; in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view through the float tank, showing the means utilized for insuring a constant pressure of oil to the burners. a

Figure 4 is an enlarged. detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. illustrating one means of adiustabiy mounting a burner in place.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken at right angles to Figure 4 and substantially on the line 5-! of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows. v

Figure Bis a detail perspective view of one of II the burners.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the cover for the burner, which is utilized when the burners are not in operation.

Figure 8 is a detail. fragmentary perspective view illustrating a part of one of the supports for a burner.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate 'corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter H generally indicates my improved heating device for a switch 8.

The switch 8 includes the cross-ties ill for supporting the stationary rails II and the movable switch rails i2. I

The switch heater H includes a plurality of independent bumers II, which are located between the cross-ties Ill and under the rails I I and I2. There may be as many burners as necessary, and the number thereof can be increased or decreased without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention.

Each burner It includes a hollow burner body I of a box-like construction formed from sheet metal of the desired gauge. The body I4 of the burner has arrangedin spaced relation to the bottom wall thereof a perforated false bottom plate 15, and the space between the bottom wall and the false bottom plate constitutes a fuel chamber. Above the false bottom plate the burner body is fllied with asbestos wool l6 or the like, which is adaptedto become saturated with the fuel.

the same will become quickly heated, so that the oil will be vaporized A removable cover It ls provided for each burner, and the burner can be provided with supporting flanges 20 therefor. The cover plates protect the burners from rain, cinders, and other dirt. When the burners are to be used, the cover plates are removed.

The burners are adjustably mounted and sup.-v

ported in a novel manner. Below each burner I arrange a supporting plate 2|, and this plate is rigidly connected to hanger straps 22, which can be bolted or otherwise secured to the crossties I 0. The plate 2| is provided with a longitudinal guide slot 23, through which extends a guide and slide pin 24 carried by the burner body.

By this construction and arrangement, a burner can be shifted from a position under the rails to either side thereof. This is' highly important when a strong wind is blowing, as the burners can be so adjusted as to allow the wind to carry the flame to the rails instead of away from the rails.

Supported in an elevated position at one side of the railroad track is a tank 25 for the fuel, which may be kerosene. This elevated storage tank 25 is connected to a float tank 26 by means of a, pipe 21. The float tank 26 is connected by a flexible hose or pipe 28 to.a manifold pipe 29, which extends longitudinally of the track.

I prefer to arrange a similar manifold pipe 30 on the opposite side of the track from'the pipe 29, and the two manifold pipes 29 and 30 can be connected together by transversely extending pipe lengths 3|. In this manner, both manifold pipes are supplied with fuel from the float chamber.

Any desired type of float-controlled valve 32 can be arranged in the chamber or float tank 26, and the float-controlled valve functions to shut off the supply of fuel to the tank or chamber 26 from the storage tank 25 when thefuel in the tank 26 reaches a predetermined height,

My construction is such that all of the burners are simultaneously adjustable, and thus the" operator can grasp either one of the manifold pipes and exert a pull or push thereon, as the case may be, for sliding the burners to their desired position.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that I have provided an exceptionally simple and durable form of switch heater.

Changes in details may be without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

In a railroad switch heater, a burner, hanger straps disposed below the switch rails, a supporting plate secured to the hanger straps having a longitudinally extending guide slot, a burner' mounted'uponsaid plate having depending slide pins received in saidslot, whereby the burner can beshifted to an adjusted position relative to the switch rails, and means for supplying the burner with fuel. v

, WILLIAM E. PALMER. 

